


Sleep Walk

by SpriceThePrice



Category: Fallout 3
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Fluff, I hate myself
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-09
Updated: 2018-10-09
Packaged: 2019-07-28 18:34:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16247435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpriceThePrice/pseuds/SpriceThePrice
Summary: "You never know what you have until it's gone..."Butch never expected his life to turn out like this, much less never expected to ever get out of the vault. He especially never expected to fall in love with his childhood enemy...





	Sleep Walk

**Author's Note:**

> Story title inspired by "Sleep Walk" - Santo & Johnny (Anyone who's ever watched La Bamba will see why this song is so fitting.)

"Come on," She breathed leading Butch through the door of the Jefferson Memorial Rotunda. 

Butch gulped at the sight of the two Enclave soldiers alongside of Colonel Autumn pacing back and forth. He glanced over at Ronnie, watching as her expression changed from stunned to enraged at the sight of the man before her.

" _You again..._ " Autumn hissed, narrowing his eyes at Ronnie, "I can't say I'm surprised. You and your ilk seem hell-bent on destroying everything our government has worked to achieve. There's nothing to stop me from killing you this time! Let's end this!"

"Give it up, Autumn. You've lost, you motherfucker!" Ronnie growled, gritting her teeth and raising her plasma rifle, ready to fire at any time.

Autumn scoffed, "I beg to differ. The Enclave is at the height of it's power. Once this facility is operational, the masses will flock to the Enclave for fresh water, protection, and a plan for the future."

Ronnie smirked that wild smirk that Butch had grown to love seeing her do, "Raven Rock is gone. Eden checked out... You ain't got shit left." 

Autumn swallowed, looking like he had just took a blow to the gut. He licked his lips and raised his brows, "The American people are worth fighting for. The future must be secured! I-I wont let you stand in the way of that!"

Veronica shook her head slightly, "This isn't the way to do it... More fighting will only make things worse."

"And what would you have me do?!" Autumn exclaimed, "Let YOU have everything I've worked to build? Let YOU destroy it all?!"

Ronnie glanced at Butch for a brief moment before turning her attention back over to Autumn, "Just walk away..." She sighed heavily, a mixture of pleading and exhaustion in her voice.

"Y-you would just let me leave?..." Autumn narrowed his eyes in suspicion, "How do I know that you won't just shoot me when I turn my back on you?"

"Ronnie... what the hell?" Butch asked in a hushed whisper, "You really gonna let this guy go? After fuckin' everything?!"

"Not now, Butch." She retorted.

"I suppose it doesn't really matter much now anyway... I'll leave you to your fate." Autumn interrupted.

Before Butch could even blink, Ronnie had the two Enclave soldiers taken down and the barrel of her rifle against the back of Autumn's head.

"Hey Autumn... This is for my dad," She growled, pulling the trigger.

She stormed out of the Rotunda leaving everyone in there demanding to know where it was that their precious Lone Wanderer was going. Butch ignored them and hurried after her. He frowned when he found her leaning against a wall. She glanced over at him and slid down to the dirty cement floor.

"What the hell? You can't just storm out like that! Don't mean to be a dick here, Pointdexter, but now really ain't the best time to be runnin' out on the Brotherhood of Steel!" Butch panted, catching up to her. 

"You okay, Nose-" Butch caught himself, realizing that now was probably not the best time for jokes, "You okay, Ronnie?"

She swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded slowly, "I'm tired, Butch."

"I know you are, but hell, all those people down in there are depending on you," He replied, pulling out his pack of cigarettes.

"Wait here," She instructed, jumping up to her feet.

"What?!" He exclaimed, yanking the cigarette out from in between his lips, "What am I supposed to do here? Work on my needlepoint or something,"

"It's better if I talk to Sarah myself, I'll be right back." 

Butch rolled his eyes, "Yeah, Yeah whatever. Hurry back though, this place gives me the creeps."

With that, she was gone. Butch leaned his head back and exhaled a cloud of smoke in the air. He was tired, too. The two of them had been through so much shit recently, it was almost hard for him to wrap his head around everything that was currently and had gone on in the past week alone. Out of all the hectic shit going on in his life, he still was having the hardest time trying to wrap his mind around what happened between him and Veronica.

He never expected in a million years to have Nose-bleed of all people come onto him. Maybe she was bored? Maybe she was curious? But when she kissed him, man, he seen stars. The feeling he got inside when he kissed her back was just like that lovey dovey "sparks" crap in those old pre-war novels he had read to pass time whenever he was in trouble back home in the vault. 

He could tell she felt the same way just by the look in her eyes when they pulled apart. Sure, he'd secretly always had a crush on her, but now? Now this was something different... this was something Butch never expected he'd feel towards her... _**he loves her**_.

 

"I'm glad you killed that bastard," Sentinel Sarah Lyons praised Veronica, "Now let's get this place locked down"

Veronica licked her lips and nodded slowly, trying to process everything that was going on. Sarah hurried up the stairs with Ronnie following close behind her. Her heart dropped as she heard Dr. Li on the other side of the intercom yelling that something was seriously wrong with the purifier. Sarah furrowed her brows and stared back at Ronnie before answering Dr. Li.

"Dr. Li?! It's Sarah Lyons, I'm in the control room. What's going on?!"

"I'm monitoring the equipment and we have a serious problem," Dr. Li responded, causing a sick feeling to wash over Ronnie, "The facility has been damaged during the fighting... Some of it looks active enough while some of it has been sabotaged. There's pressure building up in the holding tank and it needs to be released now or else the whole facility could explode!"

"No..." Veronica whimpered. 

She had lost her father, her home, her life for Project Purity... she couldn't allow it to fail. Not after everything... 

"To release the pressure, you're going to have to turn the purifier on. Do you understand me? It has to be turned on NOW!" She shouted, causing both Sarah and Ronnie to wince.

Dr. Li sighed and lowered her voice, clearly distraught, "If I'm reading this right... I'm afraid there are lethal levels of radiation inside the chamber. I-I'm sorry... I wish there was some other way but there's just NO time. It has to be done NOW or the damage will be catastrophic!"

Sarah slowly turned around to face Veronica. She exhaled a shaky breath and smiled weakly, "Well... so much for celebrating."

"What are we gonna do?" Ronnie asked without thought.

"One of us is going to have to go in there and turn the damn thing on." Sarah replied sharply. She chewed the inside of her bottom lip and stared up at Ronnie with sad eyes, "...and whoever does it, isn't coming back out."

Veronica's expression dropped and she hung her head. How could this be happening?! 

"Not exactly how I pictured going out...you know?" Sarah shrugged, trying to lighten up the situation but failing to do so, "Wanna draw straws?"

"No." Veronica's head shot up. She swallowed hard and sighed deeply, rolling her fists into balls and digging her nails into the palm of her hands, "I'll do it. I'll start the purifier."

"Ver-"

"This is my fault, I have to be the one to do it." Veronica cut her off.

Sarah frowned but nodded slowly, "You're going to have to be quick about doing it. If the radiation is bad enough... you won't have much time."

"I know..." Veronica breathed, brushing past Sarah, but was stopped abruptly by Sarah's arm.

"I won't forget what you've done here. No one will... thank you." Sarah smiled proudly.

"Sarah..?" Veronica called out, stopping before reaching the emergency bulkhead. 

"What?"

"Can you give me one minute, please?"

Sarah winced, "You heard Dr. Li... there isn't much time."

"Please...? I'll be right back." Veronica pleaded.

Sarah put two and two together as to what is was Veronica wanted to go do. Sighing, she nodded slowly, "Go... quickly, but hurry back!"

With that, Ronnie ran down the metal steps and bolted out of the rotunda. Her heart raced as she ran over to where Butch was still sitting, smoking back cigarettes and staring up at the damaged ceiling. She fell to her knees and grabbed Butch's hand.

"Butch," She laughed, before he even got a chance to ask what was going on. "I need to tell you something!"

"Well spit it out, Nosebleed, you're actin' all weird.... weirder than usual," He smirked. 

Ronnie choked back tears and laughed as she stood up, Butch following her actions.

"Ronnie? Why are you crying?" Butch asked, dropping his cigarette and cupping her face in his hands.

"Nothing, I'm... I'm just glad this is all over..." She lied, tears streaming down both of her cheeks.

"Aw, come on, girly. You can't be crying! Tunnel snakes don't cry," He smiled, making her knees weak.

She shook her head and chuckled, wrapping both of her hands around Butch's wrists, "Butch...?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you." She whispered.

"W-what?" Was all he was able to stutter out before he was cut off by Ronnie's lips against his.

That familiar feeling washed over the two of them yet once again. This time Butch wasted no time. He immediately kissed her back, wrapping an arm around the back of her neck to pull her close. She ran her fingers through his hair that wasn't in it's usual pompadour style due to the shit they had just been through with the Enclave.

When they pulled apart, Butch leaned his forehead against hers and she wrapped her arms around his waist, happy to be in his arms. 

"I love you, Veronica," He whispered, placing a kiss on her forehead. She stared up at him and smiled, "Hell, I've loved you since we were kids. I don't know what I'd ever do without ya, Nosebleed."

She stiffened, "Butch...?"

"Yeah?" he answered softly, placing a kiss along her jawline.

"I want you to know how much you mean to me. You're my best friend and I love you with all of my heart. I can't thank you enough for being here by my side through all of this. I'm so grateful for you," She rushed to say, causing Butch to raise a brow.

"You sure you're oka-"

"I have to go Butch, I have to go back in there. I just... I just had to tell you how I really feel about you," She sighed.

"Well, go. I'll still be here... waiting. Hell, I'll wait for you till the end of time... even if it's in creepy dark places that you know gives me the creeps." He teased, rolling his eyes.

Ronnie took a step back and smiled at him, "I think that's the nicest thing you've ever done for me, Deloria."

"Yeah, yeah," He laughed, pulling out his cigarettes and placing one between his lips. 

"I'm serious!" She giggled.

"Yeah? and I think we should head back to Rivet City and get ourselves a drink," He said in a muffled tone as he lit the end of his cigarette. 

Ronnie watched as the end of the cigarette turned red as he sucked back. Her smile was quickly erased. She cleared her throat before speaking, "Be safe, Butch. Please."

Butch grunted, still slightly annoyed with how much she babied him. Though, now it all made sense why she was so protective of him. She loves him... just as much as he loves her back. 

"Hey Butch?" Ronnie called out, stopping dead in her tracks and glancing back at him from over her shoulder, "Tunnel snakes rule!"

Butch shook his head at her and smirked as she disappeared. He couldn't help but smile to himself like an idiot as he casually leaned against the wall and thought about what had just happened. He'd never felt something like this before. None of the girls back home in vault 101 ever made him feel like he felt with Ronnie. No one could piss him off as much as she could while still making him fall madly in love with her at the same damn time. 

Man, if the overseer could see the two of them now. The two people he hated the most... in love and side by side together, kickin' ass out in the Capital Wasteland. 

 

"Ready..." Veronica breathed, wincing as the door closed behind her and the emergency bulkhead door lifted. 

Without so much as taking a breath, she hurried over to the control pad and immediately punched in the code: 2-1-6. 

_"See that? It was your mothers favorite passage. It's from the bible. Revelation 21:6."_ The memory of her father's soft voice played through her head.

Ronnie staggered back, body becoming tense and heavy. Her vision began to blur as her chest tightened, cutting of her air supply. She blinked three times before falling to her knees.

_"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely."_ James' voice trailed off in her head before she fell over. 

"If you're still there, the purifier needs to be activated immediately! We don't have much time!" Dr. Li shouted from the intercom.

Butch had just walked in as Li finished her hollering from the intercom. Sarah gasped as she noticed Butch run up towards her.

"Hey what the- what the fuck?!" He shouted.

"Get him out of here!" Sarah demanded.

"What the fuck?! Ronnie!" He shouted, staring over at an unconscious Veronica inside of the chamber. "NO!"

A paladin in power armor yanked Butch back, causing Butch to flail around in his grip. 

"You need to get out of here, NOW! The radiation is too great!" Sarah shouted.

"RONNIE!" Butch screamed at the top of his lungs as the paladin drug him down the metal steps. 

"Fucking let me go!" Butch screamed, continuing to flail around as he was drug towards the door.

"RONNIE!" Butch cried, "RONNIE!" 

At a blink of an eye, Butch's world seemed to slow right down. He continued to scream, cry, and kick his legs up off of the ground as the Paladin finally was able to successfully drag him out of the rotunda. The paladin carelessly threw him to the ground and stomped off, leaving Butch there all alone, hunched over on his knees, gasping for air in between sobs.

_"I'm hungry and that stupid robot ruined the cake!" Ten year old Butch whined, "Give me that sweet roll you got from old lady Palmer!"_

_"How about we share it? You get half, and I get half." Ronnie suggested._

_"Pfft, What are you? five?! Give me that sweet roll or I'm gonna pound you!" He threatened._

_Ronnie pouted but did as she was told and handed the sweet roll over to Butch._

_"Thanks loser!" He laughed maliciously._

Butch sobbed uncontrollably as memories of him and Ronnie flooded his mind. 

_"We did it! My ma's gonna be okay!" Butch exclaimed, "You're the best friend I've ever had, man!"_

_"You're welcome, Butch... but I really have to go now," She winced._

_"Hey! Wait!" Butch called after her, peeling off his jacket, "I know it isn't much, but, I want you to have my tunnel snakes jacket."_

_Ronnie cocked a brow, "Really?"_

_Butch nodded quickly, "Go ahead, take it."_

Memories of them racing from the Citadel close behind Liberty Prime, to memories of Butch eating radroach for the first time and hurling his guts out while Ronnie busted out laughing, flooded his mind. 

His chest heaved in and out and at the top of his lungs he yelled, "RONNIE!"

**Author's Note:**

> I suck at writing and don't have a beta reader, so forgive me for any mistakes. I wanted to test out the waters before turning this into a fic.


End file.
